Across the Potomac and into Maryland

Since September 4th, I’ve been thinking about the Confederates crossing the Potomac and moving into Maryland, and how long the news might have taken to reach my family members, just to the west of Hagerstown.

My third great grandmother Kate Moore lived near Four Locks at the time and was around eight months pregnant… with my second great grandfather.

Meanwhile, her husband, Cyrus… my third great grandfather… was either at home, or working to pay-off the canal boat he had purchased for just over $1,500, in 1860. If he was on the canal, he was either hauling coal and other supplies from Cumberland, Maryland to Georgetown, D.C., or was on a return trip, back from Georgetown. Then again, perhaps he and his boat had been tasked with other duties by the Federal army, such as in the scene below…

If Cyrus wasn’t home, perhaps my fourth great grandfather, Robert McKinney, who was in nearby Clear Spring, was checking on Kate… his daughter… and maybe even brought the news of the Confederates coming into Maryland.

I can’t help but wonder what they felt…

… and then there is the irony that some of those Confederates who crossed were other ancestors and kin of mine.

The time is ripe for these Sesqui reflections of civilian family members in the middle of the ’62 Maryland Campaign, and more will follow in the days to come.